


the road not taken

by Jace_Diaz_Of_Hell



Category: Star vs. The Forces Of Evil
Genre: Allusions to abuse, Brief mention of a deadname, Jeremy is a bastard, Pickpocketing, death tw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-29
Updated: 2018-11-29
Packaged: 2019-09-02 03:34:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16778803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jace_Diaz_Of_Hell/pseuds/Jace_Diaz_Of_Hell
Summary: three children, all with vastly different lives than the ones they were meant to live.





	the road not taken

Their name was Nico. Nico Birnbaum, the disgraced child of Jeremy Birnbaum. People whispered about that a lot- the kid of a millionaire, living on the streets.

But it wasn't like they could go anywhere else- all the homeless shelters tried to get them to call themselves  _ Joan,  _ as if that name from their dad was a blessing and not one of the biggest things they hated.

The kid was well known in Echo Creek- thirteen, trans, and completely on their own. But it was still so easy for them to grab money. A toss of their short blonde hair, a bright smile, and they'd slip away with someones wallet.

If they were lucky, there would be some form of money outside of the bank cards. Coins went in a jelly jar Nico had nabbed out of the garbage, bills were used to buy food, or a thin blanket, or, if they had gotten an especially good haul, a night out of the rain.

They were lucky to be in SoCal, Nico guessed, where there was usually sun or rain and generally not a lot of snow. It could be worse.

But still- sitting in class in jeans stained with grease from last night's meal and hair he hadn't cut since six months before, when he had managed to steal a pair of safety scissors, Nico couldn't help but wonder what the other kid's lives were like.

Did they have parents who loved them, who'd never choose which one to give up? Did they have warm homes to sleep in and did they feel loved and respected?

Shoving a chicken sandwich in his pocket on his way through the lunchline, they wondered how what it would be like for them to have that.

But they would never know that. They would only know a father who gave them away at three years old. They only knew a twin brother who pointed at them and laughed when he passed by in the limo.

Nico did their best to ignore it, and focus on just making it through one more day.

* * *

She was just eleven.

The daughter of one of the visiting merchants, invited to stay in some lord or ladies house.

Her mother had only made the decision to go because someone had wanted to commission a new gown from her.

But Beatrix, who was deaf and mute, had no idea of the chaos Mewni was in. She planned to spend her time reading books. There was still thirty  _ Animorphs  _ books she had to get through.

When soldiers of the rebel queen broke in, her mother hid her away in the closet.

_ Stay here,  _ the stout goblin had signed, her golden eyes glinting in the shadows.  _ I want you to be safe. _

And then her mother had disappeared, and Beatrix was left alone in the darkness.

With nothing to attract her attention-no books, no visible surroundings, no people- the merchant's daughter drifted off to sleep.

And woke up to something glowing.

She rubbed her eyes and straightened, wondering why they were hurting, and opened the closet door.

Smoke flooded the small room, and the source of the glowing was revealed. 

The room was on fire.

Beatrix immediately pulled the fabric of her dress over her face, darting out into the room and ducking down so she could see without the smoke stinging her eyes quite so bad.

The smoke sifted into her throat, choking the girl and making her cough.

If other people were trapped in the house, she didn't know it. She didn't know how the fire sounded, didn't know that outside soldiers jeered while the Queen crushed her mother's heart.

She didn't know when the beam broke, crushing her, that her last sight would be the Queen, staring straight at her with one single brown eye 

She woke up in the Underworld, where it's teal-eyed King looked at her and almost choked on his own guilt.

He recorded her story and answered her questions, and when she came in later to see more of his duties, or to sneak to the kitchen to satisfy her sweet tooth, he didn't get rid of her.

And Beatrix did her best to ignore the feeling whispering in the back of her mind, the sense that something most important was missing.

* * *

Jace had been not even sixteen the first time she killed a man, and it happened to be the man she loved second most.

She had stared at the blood staining her hands, at the cuts on her arms and torso, at Luke's body on the floor, his neck at a wrong angle, a bright red curve like a twisted smile.

She hadn't known how she was going to explain it to her father when she sank down to the floor by the body. Not any of it- not her injuries, not her dead boyfriend, not the positive pregnancy test on the bathroom counter.

Somehow it had happened, and the King had understood her case and refused to name it a crime. Moreso than that, he had extended his kindness and that, combined with her father's subtle influence, landed her a spot in King Admanis inner guard.

Amaranth Cora, named for a book and for Jaces father Corus, was born three months after that and after sixteen hours of pain. Jace looked down at the small tuft of black curls, at her blue-green eyes, and burst into tears.

She couldn't imagine loving anything as much as she loved Amaranth- the one good thing that had come out of so much pain and trauma.

She was the sweetest baby, but she only slept when being walked, which caused somewhat of a problem.

And so her father had suggested bringing the baby on the more silent patrols, and Jace had discovered it was just about the best idea they had had regarding Amaranth.

The baby was quiet on those long nights, either asleep or gurgling softly, smiling when Jace looked at her.

And during the daytime Jace would pass the baby off to her father so she could get some sleep.

When she woke up, oftentimes, her dad would be resting on the couch with a gurgling Amaranth holding one of his fingers.

It was a good life, she decided- she had a loving father and a daughter who grew and changed every day. She had a career she adored, working for a man she respected. She had quiet, peaceful nights to herself where she sometimes spoke with royalty.

But there would always be questions.

What would have happened if Jackie, her mother, had been unable to find Corus? Would she have been adopted? Would she have had siblings, who noticed Luke's poison sooner than she did?

When the questions arose, Jace did her best to shake them off. A member of the Kings inner guard didn't have time for such questions.

After all, the Silver Bell Ball was approaching.


End file.
